The concept of illuminated footwear has its origin both in the desire for style and the desire for safety. With millions of joggers, the use of footwear which is illuminated either constantly or periodically, is a definite safety consideration. The attractiveness and novelty of such footwear make it a large potential seller.
In the prior art, various means have been utilized to illuminate footwear such as light emitting diodes coupled to light pipes and even bulbs activated by batteries and switches to illuminate a portion of the shoe. Applicant, however is proposing a new and improved means for illuminating a specific portion of the footwear whether it be the sole or the tongue or the heel or for that matter any other shoe part. A unique vibration sensitive switch activates a circuit which causes an electroluminescent wire to flash. The wire is mounted on the footwear in a predetermined design so that the abrupt change in voltage from the switch illuminates the wire.
The prior art has experienced problems in the quality of the illumination and the fact that the devices often broke down. This has been resolved by the excellent illumination provided by the present invention and the fact that the electroluminescent wire and circuit used herein is sturdy and may readily be incorporated in many designs. Thus, the invention discloses an inexpensive and reliable means to illuminate footwear.